Energy Fiction vs Reality

America, one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, now pays roughly the same price for oil as the poorest nation, and we respond in immature and irrational ways, stamping our feet and calling for action.

A toxic combination of $4 gasoline, voter anxiety and presidential ambition is making it impossible for this country to have the grown-up conversation it needs about energy. Our presidential candidates are talking about tax gimmicks, tapping into the oil reserve, or drilling everywhere and anywhere now.

Here is the underlying reality: A nation that uses one-quarter of the world’s oil while possessing less than 3 percent of its reserves cannot drill its way to happiness at the pump, much less self-sufficiency. The only plausible strategy is to cut consumption while embarking on a serious program of alternative fuels and energy sources. This is a point the honest candidate should be making at every turn.

Yet four times this summer, Republicans stopped the Senate from taking up legislation that would have provided tax credits to an array of renewable energy entrepreneurs.

Like a nation of small, selfish, petulant children, we cannot rise above politics to establish a policy.

The Union of Concerned Scientists have four things which can start today; it is not dependent on future technologies:

1. Make better cars and SUVs - The technology exists to build cars, minivans, and SUVs that are just as powerful and safe as vehicles on the road today, but get 40 miles per gallon (mpg) or more.

2. Modernize our electricity system - A national standard requiring 10 percent of our electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020 is an attainable goal. We are already using clean, safe, renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass (fuel from plant matter) to produce clean energy.

3. Increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses - Like better technology for transportation and power generation, the technology for more efficient motors, appliances, windows, homes, and manufacturing processes is here today.

4. Support American ingenuity - Vigorous support for research and development is critical to achieving practical solutions. Yet, we invest far more in subsidies for the fossil fuel and nuclear industries today than on R&D for renewable energy or advanced vehicle technologies. For instance, Congress appropriated $736 million for fossil fuel research and $667 million for nuclear research in 2001, but only $376 million for all renewable energy technologies combined.

(To this list, I would add building up our railway system, as explained in my post here.)

While the United States has a clear-cut moral responsibility to lead the way internationally, we also have the financial and technical expertise that will help us reap the economic benefits of new markets for clean technology exports. If, however, we choose to sit on the sidelines as the rest of the world moves ahead, we will lose our competitive advantage to Europe and Japan.